Nature

Norway is famous for its rich, untouched nature – and for its fish. Shockingly, the Norwegian government has put both at stake with a controversial decision in 2015 to permit dumping of vast amounts of mine waste in the pristine Førdefjord.

The European Commission has today been urged to ensure the safety of one of Eastern Europe’s richest wildlife sites.

Kresna Gorge in Bulgaria – a fragile valley of outstanding importance, with twice the butterfly species of the UK – is threatened by a Bulgarian government decision to build an EU-funded motorway through it. Construction could start soon if the Commission doesn’t act.

While the Balkans are increasingly popular as a holiday beach paradise, they hold a sparkling secret: The peninsula itself is home to the richest network of wild rivers on the continent. But the exclusive biodiversity, as well as the nature haven and water resources of many local communities are under a great threat. Over 3,000 hydropower dams and diversions are planned in the region, in addition to over 1,000 that already exist.

A year after an EU Commission ‘Action Plan’ stated EU governments should better implement nature protection rules, a new report assessing 18 EU countries shows that all 18 are dragging their feet and failing to protect Europe’s most precious natural areas.

On World Water Day, Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina is highlighting how international development banks are underwriting a swath of destructive hydro-energy projects across Southeast Europe – including many in protected areas.

Naturvernforbundet/Friends of the Earth Norway joined an international coalition of environmental and human rights groups today for a new campaign to end the dumping of hazardous mine waste, known as tailings, into oceans, rivers and lakes. The practice smothers seabed floors and coral reefs, threatens fisheries, and harms human and wildlife health.

A tougher ban on three neonicotinoid pesticides is urgently needed, Friends of the Earth Europe said, after a major new report published today confirmed comprehensive evidence of the threat these chemicals pose to Europe's bees.

The European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) much-awaited assessment of the highly controversial pesticides reviews the scientific evidence since the ban was introduced in 2013. The evidence shows that outdoor uses of neonicotinoid pesticides represent a risk to wild bees and honeybees.

Desislava Stoyanova, from Za Zemiata/Friends of the Earth Bulgaria, on how the Bulgarian people are refusing to submit to their government's plans to decimate some of the country's most pristine protected areas. Read the original post on Bankwatch here.

For almost two months now, Bulgarians from across the country and abroad have taken to the streets to defend the country's natural mountainscape against new developments.